Infant Curriculum Statement
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” - Plato
In the infant room at Busy Nest Day Care we play A LOT! We spend our day playing and experiencing various daily caregiving routines like changing diapers, washing hands and eating. By having these experiences, the children are learning various cognitive, physical, social, emotional and creative skills. All by playing!
Here is how I organize my day and materials to provide meaningful play and caregiving experiences for the children to learn these important skills:
I build a relationship with the children and their families by always greeting them when they arrive at or leave the centre. I also help them greet their peers to help them build relationships with each other. I ask their parents how their night was or if there is anything I should know for the day. I sit on the floor where the children are playing to help facilitate their play and learning. The non-mobile infants are always “where the action is” to watch, hear and touch what’s going on.
When new children are starting the program I encourage them to come in for visits to meet me and discuss their routines and answer any questions they might have. It’s a good way for us to get to know each other before they start.
To let parents know about their child’s day, I fill out daily information sheets that show what their child ate, when they slept and had their diaper changed and whether or not I need any supplies topped up. I also have a poster on the window where parents can see what play experiences their child participated in that day and what skills they were learning by doing it. I try to take pictures of our day and post them for everyone to see.
I organize the play space to help the infants feel independent and give them a sense of “I can do it”. I have low shelves where they can reach for and choose their own toys to play with. I provide a variety of interesting toys and objects for the children to explore safely on their own. I also have a low table and chairs for meal times that they can get in and out of on their own. They love trying to do up their own seatbelts which helps develop their eye-hand coordination! At my diaper changing area, I have all they supplies I may need so I can be totally attentive to the child I am helping, talking to them about what I have and what I am doing. Even these everyday tasks that we perform many times a day can provide the children with learning experiences.
When children start our program I try to be accommodating to their schedule at home to provide consistency. If one of them still naps twice, then I can provide that and be flexible with my schedule. If a child does nap in the morning and happens to miss an activity that I know they enjoy, I can still provide the activity at another time during the day to accommodate their individual needs.
I organize time and transitions to support learning and development by always telling the infants what is happening and what will happen next. I want them to know that they are a part of what’s happening. When I offer a play or exploration experience, I want to make sure I give them enough time to enjoy it and practice the skills they are learning.
During play I talk to the children about what they are doing. By building with blocks we talk about sizes, colours, shapes, etc. I will also mark it on the board for their parents to see that their child was learning about concepts while playing with blocks. That is how I make the connection between their play experiences and what skills they are learning. I talk to them during caregiving routines so they know what to expect. For example, I will tell them after lunch that we will go wash their hands and face before actually doing it. This way they know what to expect.
Babies love to look at pictures of other babies and themselves. To represent the infants in my care I post pictures of them in the room and slip photos in albums that I have in the book area. (I even have a few pictures of some of their siblings!) We look at the pictures and we can compare differences and similarities, for example, “X has brown hair and you have blonde hair” or “You are a girl and X is a boy”. I also have posters of babies brushing their teeth from the Dentist office. We sometimes go for walks around town to see different people in the community that we might know, like grandmas or grandpas.
I ask parents to bring in familiar items like blankets or stuffed animals to make the infants feel more at home in our program. Some of them send a favourite lunch, cup or soother. When the others notice the different items, it’s a great learning opportunity to talk about how we are all different.
Play is a fun way, and the best way, for infants to learn about the world around them and develop their skills.
In the infant room at Busy Nest Day Care we play A LOT! We spend our day playing and experiencing various daily caregiving routines like changing diapers, washing hands and eating. By having these experiences, the children are learning various cognitive, physical, social, emotional and creative skills. All by playing!
Here is how I organize my day and materials to provide meaningful play and caregiving experiences for the children to learn these important skills:
I build a relationship with the children and their families by always greeting them when they arrive at or leave the centre. I also help them greet their peers to help them build relationships with each other. I ask their parents how their night was or if there is anything I should know for the day. I sit on the floor where the children are playing to help facilitate their play and learning. The non-mobile infants are always “where the action is” to watch, hear and touch what’s going on.
When new children are starting the program I encourage them to come in for visits to meet me and discuss their routines and answer any questions they might have. It’s a good way for us to get to know each other before they start.
To let parents know about their child’s day, I fill out daily information sheets that show what their child ate, when they slept and had their diaper changed and whether or not I need any supplies topped up. I also have a poster on the window where parents can see what play experiences their child participated in that day and what skills they were learning by doing it. I try to take pictures of our day and post them for everyone to see.
I organize the play space to help the infants feel independent and give them a sense of “I can do it”. I have low shelves where they can reach for and choose their own toys to play with. I provide a variety of interesting toys and objects for the children to explore safely on their own. I also have a low table and chairs for meal times that they can get in and out of on their own. They love trying to do up their own seatbelts which helps develop their eye-hand coordination! At my diaper changing area, I have all they supplies I may need so I can be totally attentive to the child I am helping, talking to them about what I have and what I am doing. Even these everyday tasks that we perform many times a day can provide the children with learning experiences.
When children start our program I try to be accommodating to their schedule at home to provide consistency. If one of them still naps twice, then I can provide that and be flexible with my schedule. If a child does nap in the morning and happens to miss an activity that I know they enjoy, I can still provide the activity at another time during the day to accommodate their individual needs.
I organize time and transitions to support learning and development by always telling the infants what is happening and what will happen next. I want them to know that they are a part of what’s happening. When I offer a play or exploration experience, I want to make sure I give them enough time to enjoy it and practice the skills they are learning.
During play I talk to the children about what they are doing. By building with blocks we talk about sizes, colours, shapes, etc. I will also mark it on the board for their parents to see that their child was learning about concepts while playing with blocks. That is how I make the connection between their play experiences and what skills they are learning. I talk to them during caregiving routines so they know what to expect. For example, I will tell them after lunch that we will go wash their hands and face before actually doing it. This way they know what to expect.
Babies love to look at pictures of other babies and themselves. To represent the infants in my care I post pictures of them in the room and slip photos in albums that I have in the book area. (I even have a few pictures of some of their siblings!) We look at the pictures and we can compare differences and similarities, for example, “X has brown hair and you have blonde hair” or “You are a girl and X is a boy”. I also have posters of babies brushing their teeth from the Dentist office. We sometimes go for walks around town to see different people in the community that we might know, like grandmas or grandpas.
I ask parents to bring in familiar items like blankets or stuffed animals to make the infants feel more at home in our program. Some of them send a favourite lunch, cup or soother. When the others notice the different items, it’s a great learning opportunity to talk about how we are all different.
Play is a fun way, and the best way, for infants to learn about the world around them and develop their skills.